The M Word Project: Supporting colleagues experiencing menopause

By Nylah Ali, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Association of Colleges

Three-fifths (59%) of working women between the ages of 45 and 55 who experience menopause symptoms say it has a negative impact on them at work.

Experiencing menopause can lead to difficulties in concentration, increased workload challenges, and reduced productivity. A lack of knowledge within an organisation of how to support employees with the symptoms of menstruation, menstrual health conditions and peri/menopause can lead to employees coming to work regardless of their discomfort, long periods of annual leave, disengagement at work and increased staff turnover.

The Association of Colleges (AoC) is committed to the FREDIE values of Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement. We recognise that our values are the basis for creating a culture of belonging within AoC. This culture is essential for positively influencing our work with colleges and stakeholders. Recently, we completed the second year of our Gamechangers initiative, where colleagues from across the organisation collaborated to find innovative ways to embed these values into our daily operations.

As part of this, AoC Project Administrator Michelle Pearl met with Debra French, People Services Organisational Development & Engagement Manager at Nottingham College, with Debra sharing the progress Nottingham had made to support colleagues with women’s health through their Café online sessions. Michelle was inspired following her visit and came back from that meeting with a sense of motivation towards how AoC can help develop support through the M Word Project and in particular, to get accredited to become menopause and menstruation friendly employers.

A core team was brought together from across AoC with support from the HR team. A call was made for volunteers to become our M Word champions, whose primary role is to provide a listening ear, supportive shoulder and to signpost employees to the Menopause Policy for information. The M Word champions are also responsible for updating the newly created, dedicated intranet page with relevant information and resources. They will also work closely with our mental health first aiders who can provide additional support if needed.

AoC already had in a comprehensive menopause and period policy which was reviewed and shared with champions and was regularly highlighted during sessions. We were also able to secure some period products for the office toilets.

The launch of the M Word Café helped with the aim of raising awareness of the impact of menopause with the first café focussing on hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The cafés are intended to run once a quarter with the themes being determined by ideas fed back to M Word champions.

The response we have had from staff and the senior leadership team (SLT) has been overwhelmingly positive, with many attending the café just to get more information on what they or their loved ones may go through with the menopause. We are so excited to be on this journey to make a difference within the AoC and share best practice with colleges about how to support colleagues experiencing menopause to create a more inclusive, engaged and equal workspace.